DETERMINANTS OF LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY CONVERGENCE IN THE EUROPEAN AGRICULTURAL SECTOR.

The EU agriculture, in spite of the market integration process, shows important differences in terms of productivity and efficiency. It is thus important to determine whether there is a convergence process in agricultural productivity and what factors would explain the observed disparities. To respond to these two questions, the dynamic of the agricultural labour productivity of 125 EU regions was analysed. The methodology was an estimation of the convergence equation with cross-section data for the period 1985-2004. The results showed that there is a very slow process of absolute convergence in productivity among the EU agricultures. Besides, productivity growth is related to agricultural out-migration and higher levels of physical capital. On the contrary, Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) support to the agricultural sector does not seem to have contributed to the productivity growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]